


Road not Taken

by alwaysrollingdice



Category: Persona 5, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Crossover, Gen, M/M, OT9 - Freeform, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Warnings May Change, mentions of abuse, ongoing, stray kids in persona 5 universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:13:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysrollingdice/pseuds/alwaysrollingdice
Summary: The world is not what it's supposed to be.It's filled with distortion, and “ruin” can no longer be avoided.A tale about how a police officer with a dream becomes a trickster by creating his own road to take.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 13





	1. Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> this is basically stray kids in a persona 5 universe with little changes. this is at the beginning state so if i change any tags, title or warnings don't be surprised
> 
> i will try my best to update often but i cant promise anything
> 
> feedback is very much appreciated, but if you just wanna feel like screaming in the comments, please do! i love screaming

_The contract has been sealed._

_You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance..._

_The world is not what it's supposed to be.  
It's filled with distortion, and “ruin” can no longer be avoided._

Chan had never liked the waiting rooms – they were usually quite noisy as there were a lot of people and quite often, one of them happened to be a mother with kids she was unable to keep under control. The children would run around and yell, cry loudly or just do something else that made Chan want to stand up and leave. 

“Mum, does granny live on the moon?” a little cheerful girl asked her mother loudly.

“Keep it down, there are other people here.” the mother whispered.

“Cause he said that if I don't go to sleep the aliens are gonna come and eat me for a midnight snack.” the little girl didn't seem to hear her mother's request.

“Sally there are people-”  
“But he said aliens live on the moon!”

Chan sighed loudly. Today was a hot summer day, and the waiting room was like a sauna. There was no air and Chan felt like he was gonna melt any second now. Plus now he had to listen to a little girl's nonsense, because no matter how high he turned the volume in his earphones, the little girl just yelled over it.

“Bang Chan?”

Chan stood up when he heard his name being called. A middle-aged lady was holding a door open for him. 

“Come on in.” she smiled when he saw him. He followed her advice and went into the room.

The psychiatrist's office was always cool, regardless of the weather. Chan took a seat on the chair in front of the desk. Hwang Eunji was written on her nameplate – she was easily one of the best psychiatrist in the country. She was well recognized for her abilities and the accuracy in her decisions. 

“So Mr. Bang, what seems to be the problem?” Mrs. Hwang asked as she sat down behind her desk.

“I've been having recurring, almost nightmare-like dreams these days.” Chan explained. 

The woman nodded.  
“Please continue.”

“It's not like they're explicitly scary or make me wake up with terror, but they do disturb my nights. It's not fear that snaps me awake, it's.. something else.”

The psychiatrist hummed as she was thinking.  
“Recurring nightmares... If I may ask, what are the nightmares about?”

_He finds himself in a dark environment. As he waits for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he notices that he is in a room that looks like a prison cell. The dim light that reaches the cell is in red color, giving the place a slight red glow. There is nothing that can be heard besides a low hum of some sort and he doesn’t know where it’s coming from._

_“Where am I?” he asks._

_“Those who oppose fate and desire change... from time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters.” a voice can be heard in the distance, somewhere outside the cell._

_“Oppose fate.. desire change.." Chan mutters to himself. What do these words mean? His mind is hazy, he cannot seem to make it make sense in his head._

_“What is this place?” he asks again._

_“You are the Trickster... now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion.” the voice continues, ignoring his question._

_Abyss of distortion... Chan's head pounds. He doesn't understand a word the voice is saying. Is he in the abyss of distortion? What exactly is this place?_

_He tries to move towards the iron bars, but then realises that he has chains around his wrists and ankles._

_Who has locked him up..? And why? He hasn't done something bad, right?_

_Despite the shackles dragging him down, he tries to go as far as he can reach. Thankfully, he reaches the iron bars so that he can look around._

_He sees the cells continuing so far ahead that he doesn’t see the end of them. He also sees a strange cloud in the distance. It doesn’t seem to be made out of anything really, he can barely describe it or put it into words. It emanates the energy of something powerful, something rebellious, something alive._

_After looking at it for a while, he can make out the shape of an animal. A fox, even. But not a normal one, it has 9 tails and it is bigger and more powerful than any animal he knows of._

_“I am thou, thou art I…” it mutters with a grand and powerful inhuman voice._

_It’s then that he realizes. He sees himself in it. He is whatever that flaming mass of power is supposed to be. He and the fox shaped aura are one and the same._

“Tricksters huh..” Mrs. Hwang hummed again.

“The voice in your nightmare. Have you heard these sentences elsewhere before, outside the nightmare?”

Chan shook his head.  
“Never.”

“That's odd.” Mrs. Hwang nodded.

“Alright, come clean. What do you want? A diagnosis? A prescription?” she asked as leaned towards him.

“I want to sleep at night, ma’am. That's all.”

Mrs. Hwang looked at him.

“You do know that sleeping pills were banned recently, right?”

“You don't even prescribe them anymore?”

Mrs. Hwang shook her head.

“The suicide rates are way too high. We just can't risk having these around.” she said.

“What about people who literally cannot sleep without them? People like me, for example?”

“A lot of young people come to me every day, trying to trick me into prescribing sleeping pills to them. You know how many of my past clients have committed suicide? It's a depressing number to say the least. It’s not safe having them around.”

“I'm not trying to commit suicide!”

“That's what they all say.”

Chan sighed.  
“Listen- I am a police officer. I have my duties. I can’t take care of people without taking care of myself. I just need to do my job ma'am, can I please-”

“You're oddly desperate as well huh.”

“Well I want to sleep at night, yes!”

Mrs. Hwang thought about it.

“We have replaced sleeping pills with melatonin pills. Would you like me to prescribe you some?”

“Are those any way safer then?” Chan asked arrogantly.

“Well, they are way harder to overdose on. What do you say?”

“I mean, as long as they help me sleep…” Chan gave up.

Mrs. Hwang smiled.

So there he was, standing outside the psychiatrist's office with a receipt for prescribed melatonin pills to pick up from the drugstore.

The sunlight was so bright that it made it hard for Chan to see anything. To make it worse, the light grey sidewalks reflected the light back, making it even harder for Chan to see where he was going.

Usually, he would use sleeping pills to get a normal amount of sleep. He knew that he probably shouldn’t have used them so much, but at least they worked.

But as the suicide rates in Korea started rising rapidly, sleeping pills were banned from stores and became a prescription-only drug. Obviously, Chan got some sleeping pills prescribed for him. But the problem was - a standard prescription only stays valid for 6 months. 

Now, after 6 months, sleeping pills seemed to be banned completely.

Honestly, Chan understood why this was done. The amount of young people committing suicide every day was depressing. The government gave their everything to lower the suicide rates, but nothing seemed to be helping. The country truly was at a miserable state.

Chan felt that his profession was needed now more than ever. He had to help the young people going through hardships, he wanted to make them feel safe and loved. That was why he became a police officer after all! To help the youth feel strong and accepted in the world of grown-ups. Now was the time for it, and that was exactly what he was doing!

_...right?_

He stopped and waited for the light to turn green so that he could cross the street. Like always, he looked around the crowd of people on the street. However this time, someone caught his eye.

It was a young man with brown hair, looking completely normal and blending in with the crowd. But something inside Chan told him that blending in was his intention. He _wanted_ to not be spotted.

The light turned green and the crowd started crossing the street. So did the brown-haired young man. Chan kept an eye on him as he himself crossed the street as well.

Maybe he was a drug dealer? Or something alike? Chan, like his natural police instinct told him to, decided to follow him. Just to find out if he's up to no good or not.

Having crossed the street, the guy seemed to be heading towards the Kimjin Productions building nearby. Maybe he was a trainee there? Even better, a celebrity disguising themselves?

Kimjin Productions was a label fairly new to the industry, yet it had gained a lot of popularity in a short time. Chan really hoped he wasn’t up to anything shady like he assumed before, he didn’t want this company to be involved with anything like this.

Just before the guy reached the building, he turned into a small alleyway between the Kimjin Productions building and the building next to it. Chan followed him. He got him cornered, this alleyway only lead to a dead end. 

The guy then leaned on the wall, thankfully not noticing Chan, and took out his phone. Was it an important phone call? Chan was good at eavesdropping, so this was all going well for him.

“Kim Jinhwi, theater.” the young man said into his phone microphone. Chan assumed he was searching for some gossip to talk shit about the CEO of Kimjin Productions. Needless to say, Chan’s interest in the young man only grew.

“Beginning navigation.” his phone responded. Navigation..? This was not the kind of answer Chan expected. What kind of navigation was this even supposed to be?

Suddenly Chan felt his head pound. Ugh, his insomnia really started to show it's effects huh. As always, at the worst timing as well…

Next moment, the wall behind him just magically... disappeared?

He fell down on his back, probably getting hurt. However, Chan was too confused to notice that - how could a wall simply disappear?! What on earth had just happened?

He sat up, seeing that same guy earlier - now in a weird costume - looking at him. He had a weird old-fashioned hat with feathers on one side, a dark mask and a dark leather-like vest with a white shirt under it. His shorts were dark green and his long leather boots were up to his knee. He looked like he was from a different century.

“Impossible.” he said.


	2. Strange Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan meets an interesting young man and starts questioning reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a direct continuation from Chapter 1!

“Uhh..cool costume?” Chan commented the mysterious guy's look.

“Out of all things, _that's_ what you find weird?” the young man sounded annoyed.

“What do you mean?”

“Look around you and you'll see what I mean.”

It was then that Chan noticed that it had become much darker. Oh, and the wall behind him...had just disappeared. Right. Maybe he shouldn't worry about someone’s choice of clothing right now.

He looked behind him and immediately understood what the young man meant.

What was supposed to be the Kimjin Productions building was now something else entirely. It had significantly grew in size, to start with. The appearance of the structure had changed completely, now looking more like a classic theater than an entertainment agency.

The white walls made the building impossible to miss, shining in the light of the spotlights, which were pointed at it from every angle. It was decorated with numerous statues and other carefully carved out details. It looked grand and luxurious, yet menacing at the same time.

Chan didn't know how to react. Was he dreaming? Had he been drugged?! There was no way this was real, the size of this thing was unrealistically big. Yet here it was, right in front of his eyes, and he didn't know what to think of it.

“What in the world is that?” Chan asked in disbelief. 

“The Kimjin Productions building, of course.” the guy responded.

“It can't be. It doesn't look like this!” Chan couldn't believe his eyes.

“It isn't the one in the real world you dumbass!” the young man sounded annoyed. “This is how Kim Jinhwi, the CEO of Kimjin Productions and the ruler of this place, perceives it.”

“...pardon?” Chan didn't quite understand.

“You heard me.” the mysterious guy shrugged. “It is your problem if you don't believe it. Would I be in a situation like this, I wouldn't doubt what I see with my own eyes.”

But before Chan could ask anything else, they both heard a dark sinister voice in the distance.

“It's him! Catch him at once!”

“Aw shit, the shadows.” the young man complained.

“The _what_?”

“No time to explain. We gotta run!”

The guy grabbed Chan by his shirt sleeve and dragged him along with him, forcing him to run along. Chan wanted to ask what was going on, why were they running, where they were running and who was chasing them, but he couldn't, they were running too fast.

Although he had to admit, whoever he was getting dragged along with was a pretty damn fast runner. Chan was fast because he had trained to be a cop and cops have to be fast, but he doubted this random guy had gotten any police training. It was impressive nonetheless.

After around 10 minutes or so, they had successfully escaped from whoever were chasing them. On a more negative note, they were now inside the theater, lost somewhere in the maze of hallways which all looked the same to him. Chan had no idea how they were gonna get out, but thankfully, the young man dragging him along seemed to know this place better than him.

“What were these things chasing us? Why were they chasing us? Where ar-”

“One question at a time, shall we?” the young man interrupted him.

“Sorry. What were these things?” Chan tried again.

“Shadows. They are guarding this place from intruders like me. Had they caught us, we would have been killed.”

“‘Shadows’?”

“Not as in literal shadows, idiot. It’s how their kind is called.”

“‘Their kind’?”

The young man sighed.  
“Shadow is the unconscious mind that is suppressed, a side of one’s personality that one does not want to see or admit.”

Seeing how Chan didn’t seem to understand him, he sighed again.  
“Have you not studied psychology?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Chan asked cluelessly.

The guy shook his head.  
“You know what, if you want explanations, we should go back to the real world. It’s too dangerous for me to sit down and explain you all this right now.”

“The ‘real world’?” Chan asked.

“God, just shut up until we get out of here.” 

….

It was a quiet little cafe, that was visibly trying a bit too hard to look vintage and retro. Chan didn't really like it. The guy in front of him however, whose name he _still_ didn't know, seemed to be not minding it at all. His clothes were back to normal, thank god, and he was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

“Mind explaining me what I just witnessed?” Chan asked arrogantly.

“Forget it.” the young man said as he took another sip.

“What do you mean forget it?!” 

“Just move on with your day. Forget that this ever happened. Why do you even wish to learn about that place? It would be much easier to just not mind it.”

“I have the right to know what happened to me.”

“And I have the right to keep this information safe with me. It will be no good if this information gets into wrong hands.”

Chan shifted closer to him.  
“What do you mean by that?”

“Should this information be put to use by a person with ill intentions, it can cause great damage to the world.” the guy responded, also moving closer to Chan.

“I don’t have any ill intentions!” Chan defended himself.

“How can I be so sure?” the guy sat back in his chair.

“I’m a police officer!” Chan said before taking out his police badge as proof.

The young man almost spit out his hot chocolate.  
“T-that doesn’t prove anything.” he seemed to recover from his surprise after a moment. “The cops these days are corrupt anyways.”

Hearing this, Chan’s heart broke a little. How could he? He was just out there trying his best! All he wanted was to make the people feel safe!

“And you immediately assume I’m corrupt?” he tried to stay professional.

“Are you not?”

“All I want was for the people around me to feel safe and comfortable. Is that corrupt?”

“Might not be, but doesn’t give you an excuse to acquire the knowledge of that place. What are you going to do with it?”

“I want to make sure no other citizen gets dragged into that place. It looked quite dangerous.”

The young man stared at him. Chan stared back.

“Alright. Makes sense. I trust you.” the guy sipped his drink.

Chan couldn’t help but to smile.

“So. Where do we start?” the young man asked more himself than Chan as he shifted in his chair.

“What was that place?” Chan asked anyway.

“The place we visited was a cognitive world in which one’s distorted desires have materialized. I like to call such place a ‘Palace’.”

Distorted desires.. distorted... distortion.. something about it sparked a sense of familiarity in Chan. It was as if he had heard the word somewhere. But where...?

“So we were in another world?” Chan asked in disbelief.

“Yes, we were. Whether you believe it or not, that’s up to you.” the guy sipped his hot chocolate.

Chan tried his hardest to not be skeptical.  
“Alright, so we were in another world. Why did you go there? What do you plan to do in there? How do you access that place?”

“Oh mister police officer, don’t worry about it. Only I can access this world at this point and time.”

“My name is Bang Chan, by the way. Not ‘mister police officer’.”

“Speaking of which, Bang Chan, it is my time to ask questions.” the young man leaned towards him.  
“How did _you_ get into that world?”

Chan shrugged.  
“I was just following you.”

“Following me? What for?”

“You looked like you were up to something.”

“Up to what exactly?”

“I don’t know, my police instinct just told me to keep an eye on you.”

The young man nodded while he was thinking about something.  
“This is the first time it has dragged anyone inside with me. So it must have a range.”

“What has a range?”

The guy took his last sip of the hot chocolate, not giving Chan an answer.  
“It looks like it's my time to go.” he said and stood up.

“Wait! I still have so many questions!”

“But I don’t have much time, Bang Chan. Maybe at another occasion.”

“Can I have your number at least? I need a way to contact you.”

The young man smiled. He then took a piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans.  
“Got a pen?”

Chan nodded and took a pen from his jacket pocket. Finally his habit of carrying a pen with him at all times proved to be useful.

The young man took the pen from him and wrote something on the piece of paper. He then gave it to Chan along with his pen.

“Thanks for the choco! May we meet again.” he said before he turned around and left.

Chan watched him walk out of the cafe before he looked at the piece of paper he got from him. It was a number and a name.

“Lee Minho, huh.” Chan mumbled to himself.


	3. Velvet Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan visits a place between dream and reality, mind and matter.... and shakes hands with fate itself.

As Chan had feared, the melatonin pills prescribed by Mrs. Yang did not work. He was laying on his bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come.

This is why Chan had always used sleeping pills. Despite the side effects, they worked. Sleeping pills got him the 8 hours of sleep that he needed, no matter what. He used to collect them back in the day, but he had run out. So now he was back to staying up all night.

He took his phone from his nightstand to check the time - it was already 2:45AM. There was no hope he would get a full 8 hours of sleep tonight.

Right as he was about to put his phone back on the nightstand, he noticed something different on his phone home screen. It was an app that he did not remember downloading.

The icon of the app was black and red, depicting an eye symbol in the center. It somehow reminded him of occult related drawings. The app also didn't have a name - it was labeled as ‘???’, shrouding it in even more mystery. 

Suddenly, Chan felt his eyelids get heavy. He hadn't felt this in a long time, it was as if some kind of unknown force was making him sleep. He kindly submitted to this force, as he wished to fall asleep more than anything, and let it take control.

Yet, he didn't fall asleep. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself to be in.. an airplane?

On a closer look, it was no usual airplane - it was definitely smaller than a typical commercial plane. Could it be.. he was in a private jet?!

To add to the weirdness of the situation, the interior of this place was not something that you would expect from an airplane. The walls and ceiling were blue, the carpet on the floor was blue with golden decorative patterns, the seats were made out of blue velvet. 

There were two seats facing him - one seat was occupied by a bizarre looking old man with a long pointy nose, pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes. Next to him sat a young lady dressed in blue, with silver short wavy hair and prominent yellow eyes. Contrary to the man on his left, she looked gentle and ladylike.

“Trickster! Welcome to the Velvet Room. It has been years since we've had a guest.” the man said. His voice was quite unique - it sounded quirky, yet friendly and full of pride. The tone he used was like he was speaking to a child.

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter.” the mysterious man continued. “It is a room that only those bound by a “contract” may enter.”

To Chan's own surprise, his voice was familiar to him. He could've sworn he had heard it somewhere else. But where? Where could he have heard it?

“I am Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” the old man introduced himself.  
“Her name is Marceline. She is a residence in this place, like myself.” he said, pointing on the woman beside him.

“Pleasure to meet you.” the young lady said. Her voice was calm and femininely low, making her sound mature and gentle.

“You are destined to hone your unique ability. Inevitably, you will need my help to do so. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room.” the mysterious man named Igor said.

“My unique ability?” Chan asked.

“You possess a tremendous amount of power. However, you are yet to become aware of it and awaken to your true self, your persona.”

“My _what_?”

“Personas are, in other words, a “mask” - an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters - such as battling the distortion of the world.” 

“Distortion…” Chan mumbles.

“Master, I am afraid we are running out of time.” the young lady sitting next to Igor spoke.

Igor nodded.  
“It seems the night is waning. It is almost time.” he said.

“Time for what?” Chan asked. Right as he finished his sentence, he felt how he was starting to doze off.

“Take your time to slowly come to understand this place.” Igor ignored his question. “We will surely meet again, eventually…”

Chan snapped awake. What a weird dream that was. It was almost too real to be a dream at all. What was the meaning of this? Was it a sign or just a bizarre dream with no significance?

Good news was, he didn't remember when did he last felt this awake and fresh. Yet at the same time, he didn’t remember sleeping that night. During the dream, he felt entirely conscious and awake. Had he slept at the same time…?

He really wished he could just not think about it. Lee Minho was right - it would be so much easier to just forget it. But he just couldn’t.

Too many strange things had been happening recently. It all started with the weird repeating dream he had been seeing every night. Then, he had “accidentally” ended up in a whole another world. Now, it seemed like the weirdness of his dreams had gotten to the next level.

There must be a reason why all this was happening. Something was going on with him, he just didn’t know what.

The entire day at work, Chan couldn’t stop thinking about it. He tried to focus on his work as much as he could, but sooner or later, he found himself thinking about it again - what was going on with him? Why was he going through all these weird experiences?

It had never been like this. His life had been so.. logical. Everything that happened had a cause and a consequence. Everything in his life, whether he liked it or not, kinda made sense. It was the first time something had happened to Chan that he just couldn’t explain, no matter how.

It pained him. Chan was a curious person at heart - he always wanted to understand everything. He wanted to solve every unsolved crime, find explanations for odd unexplainable phenomenons. This situation at hand - his life right now - was like an ancient unsolved case for him. An important one, in fact.

Chan groaned as he noticed that he had distracted himself from his work with these thoughts again. He took a sip of water from his bottle before getting back into doing some paperwork.

Why? Why couldn’t he just let it go? Maybe it was his “paranormal encounter” or something? Maybe this was his fun unexplained story to tell to his grandkids when he was old and wise?

“It’s because I want to make sure it doesn’t harm those around me.” he whispered to himself. Yeah, that was what it was. His police instinct! It was, in a way, an actual unsolved case assigned to him! It was part of his job, his profession! Yeah, that’s why!

_...right?_

After countless tedious paperwork, the work day had finally ended. 

As he was just stepping out of the police station, Chan realised something - all these things that had been happening to him were connected. Furthermore, the thing connecting them was only a single, but significant word.

Distortion.

“That’s a lead!” Chan happily exclaimed.

He decided to celebrate this lead by buying ice cream for himself. And not just a random popsicle - he was going to get a big box of expensive, good quality ice cream.

That would mean that he had to take a different route home. Specifically the one where he has to pass by the Kimjin Productions building and with it, the same alleyway in which he had gone to that other world earlier. 

As he reached the alleyway, he took a couple steps in. So this is the place where all this had happened. It’s the crime scene, if this was an actual case. This place, what was once just a random dead end, now held some sort of significance to him. 

On closer inspection, Chan noticed that he isn't alone in the alleyway. There was someone else in the end, crying. He carefully approached the figure.

“You alright?” Chan asked when he had gotten close enough to see who it was. It was dark, but he could make out a young boy, sitting on the ground and resting his back on the wall. It looked like he was hurt.

“Huh? Y-yeah..!” the boy seemed to be startled by his sudden appearance. He was holding something to his nose, most likely a tissue. 

When Chan's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he noticed the boy was wearing a high school uniform. ‘Kim Seungmin’ was written on a bronze name tag that was attached to his blazer.

“Are you hurt?” Chan crouched down next to him.

“I-it's just a nosebleed!” the boy assured him a bit.. _too_ enthusiastically?

“Did something happen?”

“No! No no no, nothing happened, just you know - blood pressure and stuff-” he was looking for excuses. Chan clearly understood that he was trying to cover up the fact that something _had_ happened.

“If you say so.” Chan decided to not try to squeeze any further info out of him - he looked obviously shaken up.

“But whenever you need help or just don't feel too well,” Chan said as he took a post it note from his pocket and a pen from another. He wrote his number and his name on it before giving it to Seungmin. “feel free to call. You don't have to deal with your struggles alone, yeah?”

Seungmin hesitantly took the post it note and read it before looking up at him.

“That's so nice of you!” he smiled. It seemed like his nosebleed had stopped.

Chan chuckled.  
“I'm just doing my job as a cop, after all.” he smiled. “Don't be scared to stand up for yourself and others.” 

Seungmin nodded.  
“Thank you, sir.” he said, his smile showing no sign of disappearing anytime soon.

“No problem. Get home soon, alright? It's getting late.” Chan said as he stood up. 

“I will!” Seungmin stood up as well.

“See you around!” Chan smiled before continuing his route to the store.

“Yeah.. see you around.” Seungmin mumbled to himself before looking back at the post-it note he got from the cop.

_Is this fate?_


	4. Two contrasting sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan told Seungmin to stand up for himself and others. And so he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some pretty heavy subjects are discussed in this chapter. You have been warned!

_“Welcome to TMT talkshow! Today we are happy to bring you a guest we all have been looking forward to.”_

_“That’s right! Who we have here today is an individual who has been all over the news recently. Welcome the founder and CEO of Kimjin Productions - Kim Jinhwi!”_

_An applause follows as a man in his 40s wearing a suit walks in to the studio. He shares a handshake with the male host and a hug with the female host before sitting down._

_“Welcome! How are you feeling today?”_

_“Great actually. I definitely stepped out of the bed with the right foot today.”_

_The audience laughs._

_“That’s great to hear, Mr. Kim Jinhwi. You’re the person who created the label that we all know as Kimjin Productions today. It has been gaining quite much popularity recently, hasn’t it?”_

_“Indeed.” Kim Jinhwi agrees._

_“What do you think caused this sudden jump in popularity?”_

_“The popular drama “9 lives” obviously played a big role in it. I’m honoured that our Hwang Hyunjin got casted as the main character.”_

_The male host laughs.  
“He really is the face of the company. One of a kind actor, isn’t he?”_

_“How did you find someone as extraordinary as him?”_

_“Our casting director caught him in the street, actually. He was very eager to join, and worked extremely hard to get to where he is now.”_

_“That is truly an inspiring story. An applause to Hwang Hyunjin!”_

_The audience in the studio claps._

_“Enough of the stars under your label, let’s talk about the man behind it all. Let’s talk about you! How are you feeling, seeing your company skyrocket like this?”_

_“It really is a good feeling, I must say. I surely didn’t expect to blow up like this, but I’m glad it happened!”_

_“You are especially appreciated by the public for being humble and generous.”_

_“I take charity very seriously. I think it’s not fair that people have to suffer daily while being unable to do anything about it. I believe that it is only right that I donate to as many places as I can, so that I can help make the world a better place.”_

_“Wow. I can see why you are so respected in the industry. An applause for Kim Jinhwi!”_

It was a day like any other. Seungmin went to school, studied hard, and after the lessons ended, like always, he took the bus to Kimjin Productions. 

His legs were shaking as he stepped on the bus. Thankfully, it wasn't too crowded, so he easily found a seat right next to the window.

He was scared of going to that place, but there was nothing he could do. He had signed a contract and he had to fulfill his duties as a trainee. He had to work hard for his future, no matter how scary it was.

Right before the bus had closed its doors and started moving, the doors opened again. A young man entered the bus and sat down next to Seungmin.

“Hey.” he smiled at him.

“You made it.” Seungmin smiled back.

His name was Hwang Hyunjin.

Everyone in this bus knew his name. He was a freshly debuted young actor and model, mostly known for playing the protagonist of “9 lives”, a popular drama.

Seungmin, however, knew him as a guy from class 2-3 and the only person from their school besides him who was also under Kimjin Productions. They weren’t really friends, more like an acquaintances - but he looked up to him a lot, even before he debuted. They got along since they both had to endure the same misfortune.

The bus arrived too soon.

Both Hyunjin and Seungmin got off at the same stop, the one that was merely a couple steps away from the Kimjin Productions building. Seungmin could already feel life draining out of his body.

Hyunjin almost sprinted towards the building. Seungmin assumed he was getting late to something and he sincerely wished that he’d arrive in time. He knew that being late was terrible, especially in Kimjin Productions, and he didn’t want Hyunjin to go through all that.

Thankfully, Seungmin had plenty of time and didn't have to worry about being late. Today, his schedule was not very strict.

After 15 minutes of trying to walk towards the building as slowly as possible, he had arrived. God, this place scared him. Even the entrance hall had bad memories attached to it. He wished he never signed this contract.

He turned into a different hallway, first peeking through the doorway to make sure the coast was clear. In this building, he could never be too cautious.

After deciding to go to the restroom before getting on with his stuff, he headed towards the end of the hallway. However, this also meant he had to walk past Kim Jinhwi’s office. 

He tried to walk as quietly as possible to make sure that no one would hear him. He didn't want to meet Kim Jinhwi, not this early into the day.

As he carefully approached his office, he heard someone else's voice in there. To his own horror, he recognized that voice.

“Please don't do this..”

It was Hwang Hyunjin.

Seungmin felt a big thump in his chest. No, it couldn't be..!

“Oh, why not? Don't lie to me, I know you like it.”

Despite knowing how dangerous it was, Seungmin pressed his ear against the door. 

“D-don't take a step further!!”

“What are you going to do about it, hmm?”

“I-I’ll call the cops!” 

Kim Jinhwi laughed.  
“There's no use, dear. The police are my bitches.” 

Seungmin froze. He sincerely wished that he was still asleep and all this was a dream. Because if what he was hearing was indeed happening, he hated that there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it. 

Damn it, there had to be something he could do! He couldn't just stand there and listen! He had to do something!

But at the same time, wouldn't it make it worse if he just barged in..?

In that moment he realized something - yes, there really was nothing he could do. But just ignoring this and walking away would make him feel extremely guilty. He had to take action, even if it wouldn't really fix the situation at hand.

He took a deep breath. It was just as that cop had said yesterday - he shouldn't be scared to stand up for himself and others. Even if he knew it was going to get him in trouble. 

Before he could change his mind, he opened the door, gaining the attention of both Hyunjin and Kim Jinhwi.

“A-ah- I-I’m so sorry I-”

“Have you ever heard of knocking, Kim Seungmin?” Kim Jinhwi said as he turned around and slowly paced towards him. “Me and Hwang Hyunjin were in the middle of something before you rudely barged in."

Hyunjin watched the two of them in horror.

“I’m really sorry I-”

“I have told you countless times to knock before entering. Why don’t you learn, hm?” he said  
when he had reached Seungmin.

No he hasn’t. He never tells someone to do something. He expects it to be done, and if it isn’t, he punishes them however he sees fit.

Seungmin glanced over to Hyunjin. He was standing on the other side of the room, his back against the wall. He looked terrified.

“I am sincerely sorry, sir. I-I wasn’t thinking-”

“YOU NEVER THINK, YOU USELESS PIECE OF GARBAGE!” Kim Jinhwi yelled at his face, making both Hyunjin and Seungmin jump.

“I-I-” Seungmin tried to say something in defense but decided against it. 

“YOU ARE WORTH NOTHING! THIS IS WHY NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU! YOU ARE JUST A WASTE OF SPACE!” Kim Jinhwi was busy yelling, so didn't seem to notice Seungmin subtly gesturing Hyunjin to escape while he could.

Hyunjin took the advice and ran out of the room.

“You son of a..!” Jinhwi tried to chase after him, but Seungmin held him back by the sleeve of his shirt.

“Huh. I see how it is.” he said. “You didn't actually come for anything. You just came to bail your friend out.”

Seungmin gulped.  
“Y-you can't do this to him.”

“Oh? And who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?” Jinhwi shook Seungmin's hands off his sleeve.

Seungmin tried to think of something to say. Before he could come up with anything reasonable, he got punched in the face, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground.

“DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!” he yelled as he kicked the poor boy in the stomach. Seungmin groaned in pain.

“Get out of my sight.” Kim Jinhwi added after he had calmed down. “Next time you better pray that you’ll be alive by the time I finish with you.”

Seungmin tried his best to stand up, though it was hard because of his legs trembling. He bowed before backing out of the office and shutting the door after him.

He took a deep sigh. His body hurt. But it didn't matter - what mattered most was Hyunjin’s safety and well-being. He needed to find him.

After a moment of thinking, Seungmin came to the conclusion that Hyunjin might've gone to the rooftop. It was a common place for trainees to go to hide. A trainee had picked the lock of the door once, so it was open without Kim Jinhwi knowing it. Maybe Hyunjin was there? He decided it would be smart to go and see.

It was hard to run up the stairs with a strong stomach pain, trembling legs and a bleeding lip, but he needed to find Hyunjin. What he was going through was 10 times worse and Seungmin needed to be there for him. It was the least he could do.

He was right. Hyunjin was on the rooftop. The problem was, he was standing on the other side of the railings, facing the city underneath him.

“HYUNJIN!!” Seungmin screamed when he saw him.

Hyunjin looked behind him.

“S-seungmin?”

“What on earth are you doing?!” Seungmin asked as he ran towards him, tripping behind air but catching himself before he fell.

When he reached Hyunjin, he wrapped his arms around him and pulled. There wasn't much strength left in him anymore, so he couldn't really understand how he managed to pull Hyunjin over the railing back to the rooftop.

Hyunjin was sobbing when they both fell onto the ground.

“Seungmin, I'm so sorry-”

“What are you sorry for? Don't be sorry, Hyunjin. You haven't done anything wrong.”

Hyunjin wrapped his hands around him and hid his face in his shoulder.  
“I-I-” he tried to say something, but Seungmin shushed him.

“It's okay Hyunjin. We're safe here.” he said reassuringly.

Hyunjin nodded. Seungmin pat his shoulder as he hugged him.

After a while, they broke apart. Hyunjin was visibly feeling much better. However, when he looked at Seungmin, he gasped loudly.

“You're bleeding!” he said as he wiped some blood off of Seungmin's lower lip. It seemed like Seungmin had been so worried about Hyunjin that he had forgotten that he had some injuries on his own.

“Aha, that's nothing.” Seungmin chuckled as he wiped blood off of him with his shirt sleeve.

“Don't say that! Does it hurt?”

“No,” Seungmin lied. “don't worry about me! How are you feeling? Better?”

Hyunjin nodded.  
“Thank you for getting me out of there. I’m so sick of him and his abuse.. I don't even wanna think about what could've happened if you didn't barge in.” he sighed. “And.. thank you for coming to look for me.”

Seungmin smiled.  
“Promise me to never attempt again, okay? It will all get better, I swear.”

Hyunjin looked at him.  
“I just wish all this would end.” 

Seungmin understood him completely.

“It will. One day, we won’t have to go through this.” he reassured him. “It's going to get better, Hyunjin. I promise.”

Hyunjin sighed.  
“Sometimes I wish I was as positive as you are.”

Seungmin chuckled.

“Come on. Let's go home.” he said as he stood up. His legs were still trembling and he wasn't able to stand completely straight because of the stomach pains.

“Seungmin, are you sure you're okay?” Hyunjin asked.

Seungmin looked at him with a painful smile.  
“To tell you the truth, it really fucking hurts.” he chuckled.

“Should we go to the hospital? We can find an excuse for the injuries.”

Seungmin nodded.  
“I think I need it this time.” he said.

“You really do. You can barely stand.” Hyunjin sighed. He then crouched down in front of him.

“Here. I’ll carry you.”

Seungmin blushed as he layed on Hyunjin’s back and let him carry him.  
“Thanks, Hyunjin.”

“No problem.”

This time they decided it would be smarter to take the elevator instead of stairs. Thankfully the elevator they chose was empty.

They got inside and Hyunjin pressed the button for first floor. Neither of them said anything, but it wasn’t awkward. In fact, Seungmin quite liked it. He enjoyed being so close to Hyunjin and the comfortable silence between them.

It was then that an idea popped into his mind.

An idea how to make it all better.

_An idea for a solution._


	5. A blessing and a curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungmin has always thought that being a trainee was a curse laid upon him. Lee Minho disagrees.

The setting sun shone into Seungmin's room, painting everything in sight with warm golden colors. The plants on the windowsill casted aesthetic shadows on the wall, hiding the guitar in the corner of the room from the sunlight. It hadn't been moved from the corner for a while, so it was just collecting dust. The posters on the wall seemed to be just a little bit more alive as the glossy paper glistened in the warm orange light.

Seungmin was lying on his bed, holding his phone in one hand and a post-it note in the other. It was the same post-it note that the cop had given him yesterday, with a number and the name ‘Bang Chan’ written on it.

Despite the warm feeling of the sun shining on his forehead, Seungmin's mind was nothing like it. It was filled with cold and uncomfortable thoughts, it had been overtaken by fear and anxiety.

He looked at the note in his hands, letting the golden sun shine through it. This piece of paper in his hands could be both a solution and a curse. But as long as he didn’t call the number on it, it was nothing but a green post-it note.

Should he call him and ask for help?

Obviously, he was scared. Kim Jinhwi always reminded everyone that the police are on his side and if someone tried to tell them about what was happening inside the company, it would be no use.

What if Bang Chan would tell Kim Jinhwi as well? He was a cop, right? What if this was a trap? What if this was all set up to catch him in the act?

But he didn't seem like a bad cop though. In fact, he was the most genuine and nicest cop Seungmin had ever seen. There was simply no way that he had evil intentions. He was the one who told him to not be scared and stand up for himself and others. Why would he say that to him if he was working for Kim Jinhwi?

He took a deep breath. If Bang Chan was in fact a corrupted cop working for Kim Jinhwi, he had done a very good job at looking and sounding genuine. From the bottom of his heart, Seungmin wished that it wasn't like that.

Seungmin turned around in his bed, away from the sun.

But then again, did he need the help of the police? Wasn't he strong enough to deal with this on his own? Was it really that serious?

It _was_ serious, Seungmin decided. Hyunjin was being sexually assaulted almost every day, he himself had to endure physical and mental abuse on a daily basis. There had never been anything that he could do about this.

Was this really the right thing to do? Would this really help?

He _had_ to call Bang Chan. He couldn't just stay quiet about this anymore! If he didn't at least _try_ to fix something, everything would stay like it was right now and nothing would change. There was no way that the abuse towards Hyunjin and all the other trainees would stop if he didn't do anything about it!

Without dragging this string of thoughts any longer, he decided to call him before he could change his mind.

His hands were shaking as he dialed the number. A relieved sigh escaped his mouth when he heard Bang Chan’s voice.

“Hello, who is this?”

“I'm Kim Seungmin, I think we met yesterday near the-”

“-the Kimjin Productions building. I was looking forward to hearing from you.” 

Hearing that made Seungmin smile. At least there was someone out there who cared about him.

“I called because I um..”

He gulped. Was he really sure about this? Was Bang Chan really safe? What if, _what if_ he was on Kim Jinhwi’s side after all? 

“What is it? Is something bothering you?” 

“Um..”

“Why don't we meet up somewhere? I’d love to hear from you.”

Chan got a deja vu feeling when he looked around the cafe that Seungmin agreed to meet at. Just 2 days ago he had met Minho here, in this disgustingly vintage-looking little cafe. No one else other than him seemed to be bothered by the pretentious decorating, so he tried to not focus on it too much.

Seungmin was sitting on the other side of the table, drinking a milkshake and looking around anxiously. He had a plaster under his eye, most likely not for fashion purposes, and his lower lip was bruised. His fingers were also full of plasters.

“So Seungmin, how have you been doing recently?” Chan asked with a smile.

“I’ve been doing fine.” Seungmin said.

_Fine? With all these plasters?_

“I’m glad to hear that!” Chan responded. “Though I can’t help but to worry.”

“Why? There's nothing to be worried about.” Seungmin smiled.

“I'm worried because of all these plasters. Has someone hurt you?”

“Huh?” the little smile from Seungmin’s face disappeared.

“T-that's nothing! I’m just- uhh- I-I’m pretty clumsy..” he found and excuse before nervously sipping his milkshake.

“Is that so? Please be more careful then!” Chan chuckled. Seungmin smiled in response.

“Do you work for someone, sir?” Seungmin suddenly asked.

“I work for the public, of course. What do you mean by that?” Chan asked.

“Is it possible for rich people to bribe the police into keeping quiet?” Seungmin kept asking.

Chan sighed.  
“Sadly, such cases have happened. Even though such corruption shouldn’t be allowed to happen! It’s unacceptable for a police officer to ignore the law like that.” he said with a frown.

Seungmin seemed to be satisfied with the answer.

The little trip to the cafe ended up with Chan walking Seungmin home. It had already gotten dark and Chan insisted on making sure Seungmin gets home safe.

There was no mistake - something was seriously bothering Seungmin. The way he looked around anxiously, how he kept denying everything and stating that everything was fine, it all pointed to him having some trouble that he wants to talk about, but is either unsure about it or scared to open up.

Well, he was doing all that he could. He was there for Seungmin, he let him know that he supports him and is always free for him. There was no point in pressuring him to talk about his troubles - he has to talk about them when he's ready. Chan hoped that time would come soon.

A lingering thought in the back of his head whispered something about the possibility of Seungmin being a trainee in Kimjin Productions, but Chan decided to not think about it.

“Sir?”

“Just Bang Chan is fine.” Chan smiled.

“Bang Chan, um.. is it just me or has someone been following us this whole time?”

The smile disappeared from his face instantly.  
“Someone… following us?”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.” he added before looking around.

Seungmin was right - there was a familiar looking figure leaning against a wall a couple meters away from him.

“Lee Minho!” Chan smiled.

“You already know me by my name.” the figure jokingly commented.

“Y-you know him?” Seungmin asked carefully.

“Yeah. I don’t think he means any harm so there’s no need to worry.” Chan smiled as he pat Seungmin’s shoulder.

“I was wondering what you were up to.” Chan approached Minho.

“Exploring the Palace, of course. The size of that place is absolutely gigantic.” Minho responded. “How about you, Bang Chan? Being a good police officer?”

“Just helping out people who need support. Have you made any progress?” Chan asked.

“Of course! However, I’ve run into an obstacle.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Seungmin asked anxiously.

“You, young sir. Do you coincidentally happen to be involved with the horror house that is Kimjin Productions?” Minho asked him.

Seungmin gulped as he felt his heart drop.

“Minho, don’t pressure him.” Chan said.

“I-I am. I’m a trainee there.” Seungmin looked at the ground.

“Goodness! That’s great news!” Minho smiled as he ran to him. “You will be very helpful!”

“Minho what are you planning?” Chan asked protectively.

“Come with me, young sir.” Minho said to Seungmin as he grabbed his hand and started running, dragging him with him.

“Hey hey hey! Where are you going?!” Chan yelled as he ran after them.

After almost getting run over by a car and barely avoiding running into lamp posts, they finally stopped at an alleyway that Seungmin knew a little bit too well.

“W-why are we here?” he asked while panting heavily.

“Minho, you aren’t thinking of taking him to the Palace, are you?” Chan followed them.

“Why yes I am! That is exactly my intention.” Minho said with a smile.

“But isn't it dangerous?”

“Of course it is. But if we really wanna make that bitch CEO atone for his crimes, we gotta take risks.”

“What are you two talking about?” Seungmin asked as he got even more scared.

When Minho took out his phone, Chan noticed something familiar on his home screen.

“That app.”

Minho looked at him.  
“Fancy icon eh?” he asked, looking smug. He tapped on it.

“What's with this thing?” Chan asked.

“You’ll see.” Minho gave him no real answer.

“Kim Jinhwi, theater.” he said into the phone mic.

“Beginning navigation..” a voice came from his phone. Right after that, Chan’s head started pounding.

“Ugh, not again..” Chan grunted as he supported his head with one of his hands.

Then it all happened again. The wall between them and the Kimjin Productions building disappeared and suddenly Minho was wearing a different costume. The building had transformed into a grand and ominous theater once again.

It was all real. Chan had started to think that all this was a fever dream, but seeing this again meant that it was all indeed real and happening. This thing called Palace, this “cognitive world” really existed, there was no doubt.

Furthermore, it was all somehow connected with that weird app.


End file.
